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Building on Five-Year Partnership, SFS and UWICE Will Offer “Himalayan Environment and Society in Transition” in Fall 2015

On September 29, The School for Field Studies (SFS) and the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE) of Bhutan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New York City to offer a semester program beginning in the fall of 2015. The program builds on SFS’s productive five-year collaboration with UWICE, an international research and training facility, and part of Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

“Being part of a program which not only involves education but cross-cultural exchange is very rewarding indeed,” says Dr. Nawang Norbu, Director of UWICE. “Participants have completed the program with a better understanding of our world and a stronger determination to work towards protecting it.”

Over the last five years, more than 90 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the nation have participated in the six-week, six-credit summer program, “Eastern Himalayan Forests and Rural Livelihoods.” Jointly taught by U.S. and Bhutanese lecturers, the course spans the culture and history of Bhutan, rural development, ecology of the eastern Himalayas, resource management and conservation. Students conduct research projects on topics selected by UWICE and SFS, the results of which are presented to the Royal Government of Bhutan’s Department of Forests and Park Services, government guests, and community leaders.

“SFS is honored to expand our partnership with UWICE,” says Dr. Jim Cramer, President of SFS. “Our work together contributes to a growing store of knowledge on the environment in Bhutan, and enables students to experience the country’s wonderfully rich culture, an opportunity afforded few people.”

For more information about “Himalayan Environment and Society in Transition,” please visit www.fieldstudies.org/bhutan